Amulet Heirloom
by Lilith-2009
Summary: The story of Dean's amulet starting with Sam giving it to Dean. Goes through how Sam, Ben, Lisa, and Castiel were affected by it.
1. Sam

"Here, take this," Sam said, holding out a wrapped package. "No. No, it's for Dad," Dean replied. "Dad lied to me. I want you to have it," Sam explained, eyes expressing the continual disappointment their father put them through.  
"You sure?" Dean asked. "I'm sure," Sam assured. He was not going to give this to Dad, not after what he did, and it would look good on Dean. Dean took the gift and unwrapped it revealing a brass amulet with a human head and bull horns on a black string.  
"Thank you Sammy, I...I love it," Dean said, smiling up at Sam. Sam relaxed and smiled back. Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I can't believe you're still wearing that," Sam laughed as he got out of the car. "Never take it off," Dean said. "It's important to me, okay," Dean added at the look Sam gave him. Dean looked uncomfortable, so Sam didn't pursue the subject further and sighed as he sat on the hood of the Impala. Missing fathers aside, it was a nice night. The sky was perfectly clear of all clouds, which caused all the stars to shine brightly, reminding Sam of nights like these where instead of sleeping in a cheap motel room their father would bring out sleeping bags and they'd spend the night under the stars. Dean would make a fire and their dad would pull Sam to his side and point out constellations. Sam felt a happy warmth in him that he hadn't felt in a long time and, with his brother's warm body next to him and a beer in his hand, Sam almost didn't want to go back to Jessica and a stressful interview. Almost. He still found it funny that Dean was still, after all these years, wearing that amulet.

Sam glared at the amulet on the bedside table. It had been three months since he watched his brother die. Two months since Sam had given up on saving him from hell, one month since he had started really trusting Ruby. But that damned amulet served as the one perpetual reminder of Dean, of a brother, a friend, and the love that Sam had lost. It's been three weeks since Sam stopped expecting Dean to walk through the door, five days since Sam stopped praying to whatever deity was there that Dean would do just that. A month and a half since Sam accepted that Dean was actually dead. But that damned amulet. It was like adding salt to a cut, but Sam couldn't stop looking at it. Sort of like when you have a sore in your mouth and continually touch it, even though the result is always pain. Two hours since Sam last cried, but that damned amulet still could make tears bubble to the surface.

Sam thought it odd that Dean's throwing away of the amulet hurt Sam as much as it did. Sam knew it was a logical move on Dean's part, what with the amulet not being useful, but it still stung Sam. He had gotten over his hard feelings towards the amulet almost the minute Dean had burst into Sam's life again. Now it stood for what it always had; love and the special bond him and Dean had. It was like Dean was throwing that away rather than just a hunk of metal on a string. Though it certainly wasn't as bad as when Sam found out Dean had given the amulet to Castiel. That was like Dean had taken what he and Sam had and given it to another person. Which was absurd; what Dean and Sam had was...what, exactly? Well, it was complicated to say the least, and it couldn't be transferred to another person. Even if it was Castiel. Maybe it was because Dean's casting away of the amulet was just confirmation to Sam that him and Dean could never go back to that complicated _thing_ they had had for so many years, but it still hurt like a bitch. Both times. Damn amulet.


	2. Ben

Ben smiled as many kids crowded around his desk. All of the other children desperately wanted to question about his dad, Dean, the cool new gym teacher. Because yeah, Dean was so the coolest guy ever. His car made the boys like him and Dean's physical appearance captured the girls. It had been two years since Dean came to live with Ben and his mom, and Ben couldn't be happier. Classmates had started to question about the man who hung around Ben's house all the time when Dean first came home, but talks died down a month later when Jesse got his frog. Now Dean was a teacher and people's interests were raised once again. It was slightly annoying, but it made Ben popular, so he just basked in the attention.

Ben caught the ball with a practised motion. Dean and him had played catch so many times Ben was sure he could catch it in his sleep. However playing catch with his friends never ceased to be amusing, how could it with so much playful bickering? He threw it to Jesse but the ball flew over his head and out of the school fence. "I'll get it!" Ben exclaimed, running joyfully to the sidewalk just outside of the schoolyard. Ben frowned as a foot appeared next to the ball. He looked up and saw a man with unnatural blue eyes staring intensely at him. "Ben Braeden?" the man asked. His voice was deep and gravelly, and Ben was getting really weirded out by the way he was staring at him. Ben nodded slightly, all the things teachers said about the bad things that happen to children who talk to strangers running through his mind. The stranger reached into the pocket of his creepy beige trench coat and pulled out a necklace. He offered it to Ben, telling him to take it, and once Ben had he left without another word. Ben stared at the necklace. It was a brass human head with bull horns on a black string.

"Mom, Dad?" Ben said, standing in the kitchen of their house. Lisa was chopping lettuce for a salad and Dean was washing plates. It had been a week since Ben had met the stranger, but Ben had noticed the man watching him on several occasions.  
"Yes Ben?" Lisa asked looking over at her son.  
"There's been this guy following me for like, a week," Ben said. Lisa's head snapped up, creases showing up on her forehead. "and he's really creepy. He has this weird trench coat -" Ben was cut off by his father turning around and shouting "Son of a -" then trailing off breathlessly. "Oh, and he gave me this," Ben finished shooting a strange look at his father and pulling out the necklace. A weird change came over Dean then. His previously tense body relaxed and the panicked, angry look gave way to a sort of sadness. Dean gently took the necklace from Ben, eyes glassy, and said, "I threw this out a few years ago. Always regretted it."


	3. Castiel

Ben was playing a video game in the living room when he heard his mother scream and a plate breaking. Dean came rushing in from the garage slightly oily and holding a wrench. Ben tentatively edged toward the kitchen where he saw his mother and the stranger. The stranger was tilting his head at Dean, eyes wide and staring more intensely at him than the man ever had at Ben. Dean looked angry, more angry than Ben had ever seen him, including the time Mr Riley had called Ben's mom a slut. "Castiel, you son of a bitch stop harassing my family!" Dean yelled at the man.  
"I was not harassing your family Dean, I was merely checking to see if you were all right," Castiel said. He hadn't flinched once when Dean was yelling, something that certainly impressed Ben. "I see your amulet has been returned to you. I am glad."  
"Why are you here, Cas?" Dean asked, suddenly seeming more tired than the time he had ran that marathon for cancer research.  
"I missed you," Castiel replied softly, a different but no less intense look coming into his eyes. For a few moments they stared at each other, unspoken words passing through, and then Dean closed his eyes and sighed. Castiel stayed for supper, even though he protested that he didn't need to eat. Dean told him that whether Castiel needed food or not, he was still going to eat it. After supper, Dean guided Castiel to the door, arm around his shoulder, and they said goodbye to each other.

Weeks past and Castiel no longer followed Ben. Dean seemed restless, and neighbours started to talk about how Dean would drive around the block for hours. Dean started leaving for the weekends, taking salt and coming back with cuts and bruises. Then people started talking about the new man in town. A handsome man with dark hair, blue eyes, and a trench coat. After a month or so they started talking about how the man was only ever seen with Lisa Braeden's boyfriend, whether it be in tacky restaurants or in Dean's car. They started talking about how close the two of them stood together, how Dean left every weekend, how they were seen at motel rooms together. How Dean and Lisa's relationship seemed strained. Dean started leaving during weekdays and he quit his job. Ben noticed how Dean and his mom never really talked too much anymore, how Dean was no longer happy when he was home. Ben saw how Dean longingly looked out of the low window in the living room instead of watching television. Once Dean came home and he wasn't bruised or cut, just relaxed. That was the first time Ben heard his mom and Dean fighting. When Dean came into Ben's room to give Ben a hug and tell him he'd see him later, Ben noticed Dean didn't have the amulet on for the first time since he got it back.

Dean was gone for two months, and Ben was convinced his mother wouldn't let Dean come to his birthday party. And Ben was right. Thankfully, Dean showed up at Ben's school the day after Ben's birthday and took him out for the day. They drove for an hour until they got to an old looking house that had a beat up car in the driveway. Inside of the house was a party Dean had set up for Ben, complete with cake, balloons, and presents. There were three people there besides him and Dean, one of which Ben remembered meeting. There was Castiel, Bobby, and Sam. Sam was sweet and looked nothing like Dean and Bobby was funny. Sam gave Ben the best present; a video game Ben had been pining for all year. Overall it was a fun day and Ben was sad to have to go back. Castiel came with them on the drive home, sitting in the backseat and not saying a word. Every so often Dean would look at Castiel in the rear view mirror and smile fondly. Ben was slightly puzzled at what had happened, and he decided the next time he saw Dean to ask. Unfortunately, the drive couldn't last forever and too soon Ben was home. Castiel got out of the car but seemed to think it best to stay leaning against it in the driveway. Ben looked back at him as Dean guided Ben toward the door. Ben saw the strangest thing – Castiel had the amulet around his neck.

* * *

**This is for my reviewer without an account, Katherine. Number 1, I really wish you had an account so I could just send this to you rather than write it as an authors note hoping that you check back. Number 2, I really wish you had been more specific with what you didn't understand so I could know what to explain to you. Whatever, I'll just explain everything after Castiel says he missed Dean. How to start this...okay, this story is a Dean/Castiel fic (I really hope you got that or I need to stop writing at three in the morning with no sleep) and because of the way it's written it's kind of implicit.**

**So, we got the foundation of the explanation laid. Now for the hardcore in depth stuff I stopped myself from putting in. The staring after Castiel says I miss you was cheesey-love-exchange-through-eyesex-time. The food thing was because Castiel's an angel and he doesn't need to eat. Dean's arm was around Castiel's shoulder because Dean loves him that much. **  
**Castiel stopped following Ben because...umm...now that he had Dean he no longer needed to be close to Dean's (sort of) spawn? I don't know what the eff I meant there. Dean was restless because the lack of hunting was starting to get to him. Dean's entire life prior to Ben and Lisa was a roadtrip and he was starting to miss the freedom of being able to drive like that, so he drove around the block for hours as a substitute and a stress-reliever. Dean started hunting on weekends, which is why he took salt and came back with bruises. People saw Castiel and Dean together because they hunted together. The standing close together was Castiel's fault because he's a freak without a concept of personal space. They were at motel rooms together because they hunted together. By this time Dean is getting so annoyed with the apple pie life that he quits his job and begins the transition into hunting full time again. Lisa and Dean's relationship is strained because of the rumors going around that Dean acts out Brokeback Mountain with Castiel. When Dean's at home he isn't happy because he isn't cut out for normal life. He longs to be on the road saving people and hunting things, you know, just doing the family business. Now, you'll notice I changed the line in which Dean comes home relaxed from 'a few times' to 'once'. That was what it was originally meant to be, my sleep deprived brain totally messed up. Lisa and Dean get into a fight and break up because Dean cheated on Lisa with Castiel. Dean didn't have the amulet on him because he gave it to Castiel.**  
**Lisa wouldn't let Dean come to Ben's party because Ben isn't Dean's son and Dean cheated on Lisa. So yeah, she's pretty pissed. Dean kidnapped Ben from school because he's cool like that and as far as Dean's concerned, Ben is Dean's son, blood doesn't even matter. The house they went to was Bobby's because in this story, Bobby's house is only an hour's drive from Ben's. The one person out of the three that Ben had met was Castiel (I know, the way I said that sucked). I believe that was more to emphasize the point that Ben had never met his 'uncle' Sam. In this story Sam somehow got out of the cage (as seen in the last few seconds of season five's finale) and Dean knows it. I had a whole paragraph on how Sam had anger issues (demon blood side effect) and Lisa didn't want him near her son. I deleted it because I had planned to write a different story about that. Castiel came with them because he follows Dean everywhere. Dean smiled fondly at Castiel in the mirror because he's so in love. Ben was puzzled because he's so freakin' oblivious. Ben doesn't know why his mom and Dean broke up and he doesn't know that Dean is totally in love with Castiel. He's just that oblivious. Castiel got out of the car because he figured it would be polite and he wanted to sit up front on the drive back. Castiel (rightly) assumed that Lisa wouldn't want to see him after what had happened. She would probably attempt to beat the crap out of him for stealing Dean. **  
**Now the epic last line. In this story the amulet is a symbol of love, of a deep bond between two people. Sam gave it to Dean because Dean always tried to keep Sam as happy as possible, even when their dad was absent and they had no money. Dean was the perfect big brother to Sam, and to show his appreciation Sam gave the amulet to Dean. Dean kept the amulet for so long because of what it represented; love and the connection he and Sam had. During the fourth and fifth seasons, Sam and Dean had been steadily drifting apart and becoming their own people; rather than SamandDean they were Sam and Dean. Their differences were more pronounced, their fights more violent. In Dark Side of the Moon, the bond that Sam and Dean had, the one that made them SamandDean, the one that was wearing thin since Dean was brought back from Hell, finally broke. This was marked by Dean throwing out the amulet. When Castiel brought it back to Dean, the meaning of the amulet was starting to change. It stopped being something solely connected with Sam, and started being about how much Castiel had given, and would continue to give, to Dean. Dean gave the amulet to Castiel for the same basic reasons as Sam; it was a sign of how much Castiel meant to him and how much Dean appreciated all that Castiel had done for him.  
I think I just made the story sound ten times more angsty than it really is. Okay, explanation on the Sam Dean bond breaing thing. The two of them still love each other just as much, they just aren't as codependent. They've learned how to have seperate identities. Sam realizes he can take care of himself (and yes, he's over the angst he had in chapter 1) and Dean realizes he's more than just a big brother.**

**So, Katherine, I hope that cleared up any confusion and I also hope you didn't fall asleep while reading this epic-long explanation. Thank you so much for reviewing! And thank you for saying my first chapter was well written! :D****  
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